Adjustable header assembly for roadbuilding machinery



Feb. 15, 1966 F. E. APPEL 3,234,361

ADJUSTABLE HEADER ASSEMBLY FOR ROAD-BUILDING MACHINERY Filed Aug. 10, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. FEAA/C/S E. 41 51.

Feb. 15, 1966 F. E. APPEL 3,234,861

ADJUSTABLE HEADER ASSEMBLY FOR ROAD-BUILDING MACHINERY Fe/M/c/s APPE/L Filed Aug. 10, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q I :1- I Q I J f; I N N w Q $1 I I i| HE 5" I I1] III II $1 I 4 I I I i I I III I I I I I I I I I I I I N I i I a INVENTOR.'-

A TTOE/VEVS Feb. 15, 1966 F. E. APPEL 3,234,361

ADJUSTABLE HEADER ASSEMBLY FOR ROAD-BUILDING MACHINERY Filed Aug. 10, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVEN TOR: Fawn/0.5 5. Apps;

I I I I rift "K [III L" \I M Q I I a I I I a N. I Qk/ N -o I Q m E E I IW I: In I N 1* N I Q N 3 N L 1 I I N I KI IE I [L I A I I I A 77'02/VEK5 United States Patent This invention relates to road-building machinery and more specifically to an adjustable header assembly for use therewith. I

It isto be recognized that the prior art structures include road-building machinery including header assemblies secured thereto and movable therewith for laterally containing base material or cementitious material. These prior art road-building machines, however, employed an arrangement that mounteda pair of header members rigidly re lative to a screed pan. Accordingly, if the su bg'rade in advance of the machine should fall, relative to the desired grade to which the screed pan is adjustably held, the material contained between the headers tends to seek that line of least resistance and flow out underneat'h the headers, causing a wastage. Such prior art structures were particularly troublesome when used in connection with the more modern machinery controlled automatically by grade wires. It the subgrade on which the material such as concreteis being placed is not perfeet, and if it rises and falls in relation to the established line of grade, 2. rise in the su'bgr-ade relative to the line of grade fixed by a grade Wire would cause the fixed headers to come into contact with the ground. In many instances, the automatically controlled machine would lose control of itself, for although the machine were receiving a signal through the control of the grade wire, indicating that the screed pan should be lowered, the screed pan could not come down because of the contact between the header and the ground. Thus, an irregularity in the subgrade might cause the machine to be grounded on the subgrade.

-In brief, the present invention contemplates an adjustable header assembly that will adjust itself to the irregularities of a grade, thereby preventing the machine from grounding on the subgrade and avoiding the wastage of concrete or other material being laid.

One object of this invention is to provide a unitized header assembly adapted to be mounted to a road-building machine comprising a header and support member, a header member, and vertical yie'ldable means for mounting said header member fronrsaid header and support member. i i

Another object of this invention is to provide a header assembly of the type described including a plurality of springs disposed intermediate a header and support memher and a header member thatresiliently urges the header member vertically downward into contact with the ground.

Another and more specific object of the invention is to provide a header assembly of the type described wherein the springs whichresiliently urge the header member downward into contact with the, ground cornprise at least one set of leaf springs rigidly secured to a header and support member and having spaced ends bearing against an auxiliary header member.

It is another object of this invention to provide a header assembly comprising a header and support member, a header member, and means for mounting the header member to its header and support member including a plurality of vertical mounting guides provided on one of said members, said other member being formed with vertically aligned openings relative to each guide and respectively receiving said guides there-through, each 3,234,861 Patented Feb. 15, 1965 mounting guide being provided with means preventing a vertical withdrawal from its respectively aligned opening. i

A further object of the invention is to provide a unitized header assembly of the kind described including a support means for horizontally adjusting a header member transversely relative to the road-building machine to which it is mounted.

Another object is to provide a header assembly-and support means therefor comprising means for pivotally mounting the front end of a header and support member upon a vertical axis, and including means for mounting the rear end of said header and support member to pro vide horizontal and transverse adjustmen i A still further object of the invention is to provide a unitized header assembly including a support means therefor comprising a horizontal slide bar mounted to a road-building machine, a sleeve support secured to a header and support member and mounted upon said slide bar, and including a fluid-operated means for adjustably moving said sleeve along said slide bar.

Other objects of this invention will become apparent in view of the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings forming a part of this application and in which like parts are identified by like reference numerals' throughout the same,

FIG. 1 is a front end view of a road-building machine having header assemblies constructed and mounted thereon in accordance with the teaching of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation and section taken on lines 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detail and fragmentary View of a portion of a header assembly shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a section taken on lines 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a section taken on lines 5-5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a section taken on lines 6-6 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic plan view of a pair of header assemblies mounted to the road-building machine shown, and illustrating the manner in which they may be adjusted transversely relative to the roadway.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, there is shown a road-building machine generally indicated by reference numeral ill and generally comprising a support framework 11 mounted on ground-engaging supporting tracks 12 and 13. The machine further includes a transversely extending distributing hopper 14 from which concrete is deposited onto a prepared roadbed 15 to form a strip of pavement 16, the thickness of which is determined by a screed pan 17 mounted to framework 11 directly behind the hopper. The width of pavement 16 is determined by a pair of header assemblies 18 and 19 extending longitudinally of the machine and intermediate track units 12 and 13.

It should be understood that the above described arrangement of apparatus forms no part of this invention in and of itself. More particularly, the present invent-ion relates to the manner of construction and mounting'of header assemblies 18 and 19 which is shown in greater detail in FIGS. 2-6, and are of symmetrical construction.

Each header assembly embodies a unitized construction comprising a header and support member 20, a header member 21, and vertical yieldable means for mounting said header member from said header and support member. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, members 20 and 21 are constructed from angle plates having vertical, overlapping sides 20a and 21a, respectively. The vertical yieldable means comprises a plurality of vertical mounting guides 22. welded to the horizontal flange 20b of angle plate 24), and the horizontal flange 21b of angle plate 21 is formed with vertically aligned openings relative to each guide for respectively receiving said guide therethrough. Each mounting guide 2 2 is provided with a cotter pin 23 or other means for preventing a vertical withdrawl of the guide from its respectively aligned opening in plate 21 through which it is received.

Header assemblies 18 and 19 further comprise a plurality of leaf springs 24 arranged in sets and disposed intermediate the header and support member and header member 21. The leaf springs are rigidly secured to a mounting block 25 provided on flange 20b, said springs being held thereto by a bolt 26. The spaced ends of springs 24 bear against the top surface of flange 21b, resiliently urging said header member vertically downward into contact with the ground.

The header assemblies 18 and 19 are mounted to the road-building machine in a manner permitting an adjustfrient of the header support members transversely relative to the machine. Referring to FIG. 2, a bolt connection 27 is employed for pivotally mounting the leading end of each header support member 20 from a flange plate 28, said plate forming a portion of the frame 11 of machine 10. The trailing end of each header sup-port member 20 is mounted to the machine upon a sliding block arrangement as shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 6. A mounting plate 29 is secured to the frame 11 by means of a plurality of bolts 30, said mounting plate extending in a plane transverse of the machine and supporting a shaft 31 between a pair of mounting blocks 32 welded to a slotted plate 33 projecting outwardly therefrom.

A sleeve support 34 is supported on the rod 31, being slidable therealong and having a support bolt 35 extending downwardly through the slot of plate 33 and a mounting sleeve 36 welded to the under surface of the horizontal flange 2012. As best shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, a nut 37 supports header assembly 18 from shaft 35 by contact with the sleeve 36. Moreover, it will be apparent that sleeve support 34 and header assembly 18 can be adjustably positioned in the direction of rod 31 and transverse to machine 10.

Assembly 18 is further interconnected with mounting plate 29 by an actuating mechanism comprising a fluidoperated cylinder 38 and a linkage mechanism comprising links 39 and 40'. Link 39 is pivoted to an ear 41 welded to plates 32 and 33 by a pin 42, and pivotally connects to the rod of cylinder 38 by a pin 43 and to links 40 by a pin 44. Link 40 is in turn pivoted to an ear 45 welded to the under surface of the horizontal flange 20b forming a part of header and support member 20 by a pin 46. A clearance opening 47 is provided in the horizontal flange of header plate 21, said opening being axially aligned with rod 35 and nut 37. Accordingly, header member 21 may be moved upwardly against the resilient bias of springs 24 without coming into contact with rod 35 or the other mounting members 36 and 37 A positioning of fluid cylinder 38 will of course actuate links 39 and 40, thereby adjustab'ly positioning header assembly 18. Header assembly 19 is mounted to the machine by a similar and symmetrical arrangement of apparatus and having its own fluid cylinder 38 providing horizontal and transverse adjustment, as indicated in FIG. 1.

The operation of assemblies 18 and 19 during the forward advancement of machine 10 will be apparent in view of the drawings, and it will be realized that the retaining depth of each assembly will be automatically adjusted with a change in distance between the prepared roadbed 15 and the screed pan 17. If the pan 17 and framework 11 should be raised upward relative to the roadbed, as in response to signals from a grade control device, header and support members 20 would also be elevated. Nevertheless, header members 211 would be retained in contact position with the ground by the vertical yieldable connection between it and its header and support member 20. Leaf springs 24 would supplement the Weight of the members 21 to force them into contact with the ground, thereby preventing leakage from beneath with consequent wastage. It will also be evident that each of the header assemblies 18 and 19 is adjusted vertically independently of the other. Thus, a grade change on either side will be properly compensated without affecting the adjustment of the other.

A lowering of framework 11 and pan 17 would, of course, tend to force header assemblies 18 and 19 into the ground, and except for their unique construction this might produce a grounding of the machine. However, since the header members 21 can slide vertically relative to header and support members 20 and move against the bias of springs 24, any tendency of the machine to ground itself upon a prepared roadbed is averted.

Referring to the diagrammatic showing of header assemblies 18 and 19, FIG. 7, each assembly, it will be seen, is pivotally supported from its front end by the bolt connections 27, the rear end of said assemblies being laterally actuated by cylinders 38. The structure shown obviously permits the headers to be spread apart at the back of the machine, thereby allowing the machine to back over the end of a previous days pour, as illustrated. After the machine has been so positioned, the headers are then moved inward the proper width by means of the hydraulically controlled linkage.

It will be noted that the header assemblies 18 and 19 are of a unitized construction allowing them to be assembled at a factory and mounted to a road-building machine at its point of use.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example thereof, and that various changes may be made in the shape, size and arrangement of certain parts without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the attached claim, and each of such changes is contemplated.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In combination, a road-building machine of the traveling type, having ground-engaging tracks on either side thereof; a pair of adjustable header assemblies disposed intermediate said ground-engaging tracks and extending longitudinally of said machine; each header assembly comprising a support member having a vertical retaining side and mounted to said machine, a lower header member having a vertical retaining side and a horizontally disposed flange having an opening therein, and vertically yieldable means mounting said header member from said support member said means including a mounting guide projecting downwardly from said support member but spaced therefrom and extending into said opening, means for preventing withdrawal of said mounting guide from said opening, and resilient means acting upon said horizontal flange for urging said flange downwardly relative to said support member, said vertical retaining sides being complementary to one another to thereby provide a retaining surface of adjustable depth.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,970,391 8/1934 Nickerson 94-46 X 2,197,878 4/1940 Robinson 9444 2,245,426 6/1941 Baker 94-46 2,403,320 7/1946 Miller 9444 2,591,502 4/1952 Bohannan 9446 2,779,258 1/1957 Johnson 9446 2,888,864 6/1959 Plas 9446 3,031,938 5/1962 Bero 96-46 3,098,414 7/1963 Guntert 9446 CHARLES E. OCONNELL, Primary Examiner,

JACOB L. NACKENOFF, Examiner. 

